As long as Warwick's Megan Reilly's heart and body can ignore her brain at times, she's going to do well in any foot race she enters.

Ken McMillan

As long as Warwick's Megan Reilly's heart and body can ignore her brain at times, she's going to do well in any foot race she enters.

"You can't be too negative, as I tend to be,'' Reilly said. "I think a different way than I act. I'm not really sure why.''

That's because Reilly is 14 years old and a freshman. It's not uncommon for youngsters to defer to older runners, and she does not have vast experience to tell her otherwise, although her resume seems to be getting better with each and every race.

Reilly shook up the prescribed order in Section 9, racing to big wins over defending league and section champ Gianna Frontera of Newburgh Free Academy, two years her senior. She gave national elite Mary Cain of Bronxville a scare at the Manhattan Invitational, posting one of the fastest times in Van Cortlandt Park history. A late surge allowed Reilly to beat Arlington's Bella Burda for the state Class A championship. And some will and determination was enough to earn Reilly, the Varsity845 girls' cross country runner of the year, one of 40 spots for Saturday's Foot Locker national finals in San Diego.

"I am surprised about (my season) and I am happy about it — I don't know who wouldn't be,'' Reilly said.

"She is one determined girl — she always has been and always will be,'' said Tom Reilly, her father. "When she wants something, she goes and gets it.''

Warwick coach Rich Furst knew he had a good thing with Reilly, figuring she would be a top-three runner on his talented team. Within a couple weeks of the start of the fall cross country season, he had to reassess once Reilly started beating everyone on her team.

"She has the heart of a champion,'' Furst said of Reilly, who is 80 pounds and not even 5 feet tall. Reilly smiles and says her petite size makes her less wind resistant and she has less weight to carry around.

But Reilly still has the mind of a young teen. That's why she gets very tense before a big race, often upsetting her stomach. Once the starting gun goes off, though, all of that anxiety seems to be left in her wake.

"You keep pushing and try to be competitive against all of them,'' Reilly said of her competitors. "Once I am in the race, I can't think about what happened before the race. I have to focus on who's in front of me and who's in back of me.''

So her trip to San Diego this week brings a bit of trepidation. There's the fear of placing last in the field, although Furst assures her she is also capable of finishing near the front. Reilly said she's comforted by the notion she may have three more chances at running this race since she's only a ninth-grader.

Warwick's Sanfordville Elementary course has elements of San Diego's Balboa Park, the site of the Foot Locker finals, so her training this week has focused on certain portions that will be critical.

"I think the course is very good for her,'' Furst said.

Furst has been to Balboa on a number of occasions with former star Aislinn Ryan so he's familiar with the course, the history and the likelihood of how the race will be run. He says he doesn't want Reilly to lead but he wants her to run with or near the lead pack. Then it's up to Reilly on what she will do.

"I go out at a pace where it's comfortable and then I decide whether to push,'' she said.

Fortunately, she made that decision at the correct time during the Foot Locker Northeast regional at Van Cortlandt Park, summoning enough speed to grab the ninth of 10 qualifying spots.

Tom Reilly said his daughter didn't get caught up in the early hype until she started winning on the league and county level.

"It's still difficult for her to handle all that pressure as a 14-year-old,'' Tom Reilly said. "She's not an adult; she's a little kid. She was thrust into this very quickly. She has all the issues that every other 14-year-old has and has this on top. It's not easy.''

Even Furst doesn't think his prized pupil fully "realizes the enormity of what she has accomplished.''

"Sometimes she feels like she's just a little kid and she can't do anything, but she's not a little kid,'' Furst said. "She's a very talented kid. She has a tremendous competitive spirit. She's got a great support system. Right now she's going with it.''

The future, while bright, is also unpredictable. There's no telling when or if Reilly will hit a growth spurt. Ryan, who was taller with longer legs, made steady improvements through her career, eventually winning the 2004 Foot Locker national. Cornwall's Aisling Cuffe is more similar physique-wise to Reilly, and she also made steady improvements, winning the 2010 Foot Locker national. Compared to both, Reilly is already putting up better class performances than Ryan and Cuffe.

"I have to nurture and hone her competitive spirit,'' Furst said. "I have to train her physiology so she can sustain tremendous efforts. I have to keep her focused on moving forward one step at a time. I have to make sure that she can accept setbacks and put them in proper perspective.''

Reilly, too, does not know what the future holds, but her early success has allowed her to dream a little.

"Hopefully, one of my goals is to make it to the Olympic trials one day,'' she said.